Get Important! Sales Strategy

           In a previous career, when I sold for a hospital products distributor, we negotiated a three-year contract with my largest account.  The contract called for, among other things, fixed margins on a number of “A” products and the corresponding volume commitments on their part.  In my $5 million territory, the contract represented $7 Million a year.

           There were lots of other provisions, the most remarkable of which was our commitment to locate one of our customer-service representatives and a computer with online access to our inventories in their facility.  That way, they could get instant data on the status of orders. 

           While there were lots of benefits to both sides, the underlying issue was that we had become very important to that customer. So much so that it would be very difficult for them to extricate themselves for reliance on us, if they should ever so desire. They had become our partners, and we had become theirs.

           Some of the net results of our becoming important to them was a huge guaranteed three-year revenue stream, guaranteed protection from competitors, and a working relationship with the key decision makers that our competitors could only imagine.

           Getting important  had paid off.

           Getting Important is a powerful key account sales strategy that, when properly pursued and executed with discipline and perseverance, can bring similar results to creative B2B suppliers.

           Getting important means that you have a goal in mind of a close, collaborative vendor-customer relationship which manifests in loyalty and commitments to dramatic purchase levels, in return for a menu of above-and-beyond purchasing options and services.

           It is a powerful way to give purpose and focus in a world where the temptation is to treat every opportunity as a transaction, getting the most profit your can out of it, and moving on to the next.  It is not for every account and it’s not for every salesperson.

           For those with whom it resonates, here’s how to implement it.

 Select your prospects well.  Not everyone is a candidate for this approach.  My experience indicates that probably no more than five percent of a salesperson’s or company’s accounts would qualify.  They need to be large enough to justify the investment in time and energy, open-minded enough to consider alternate vendor relationships, and intelligently managed so that they can provide a stable, multi-year commitment.

           Understanding that it is 3 to five year process, make sure that you make good business decisions about whom to invest your time and resources into.

Understanding that relationship are the oil that lubricates the gears of these arrangements, set out to create relationships that are broader and deeper than typical. Broader means that you (the salesperson)_knows more of them.  Develop relationships with every decision maker and influencer, and every department manager, etc.  Broader also means that more of them know more of yours.  So, facilitate relationships between our customers service people and their purchasing people.  Bring them into your facility and take your people out to mee them.

           Deeper means that the relationship extend up the ladder to include the customers C-suite with yours. Your branch or sales manager should know them, your CEO should know their CEO, etc. The closer the relationships among the C-suites grow, the easier it is to do these deals.

           I’ve found it helpful to strategically entertain the key decision makers in order to expand the relationship beyond the business world. Your key executive should be a part of that as well.

  Find lots of things and lots of important things they cold buy from you and begin to sell as many SKUs as possible.  No product is too small, no piece of business too miniscule to ignore.  You are not just creating transactions, you are building a base of history and a developing a position of a significant vendor before you begin talking about  ‘partnerships.”

4.  At some point, when you have important broad and deep relationships, and have become a significant vendor, begin to make ‘bundled offers. A bundled offer is when you make an offer on one or more products dependent on their purchase of others. One of the best examples came out of the building materials industry.  Your local lumber store typically sold a line or two windows and another of doors. One major window manufacturer, with a brand that was well known and well-respected, dramatically increased their business when they said to their customers, “If you want to sell our windows, you must also buy our doors.”  They made the purchase of one line of product dependent on the purchase of another one.   

           While this example may seem a bit heavy-handed, there are significant benefits to the customer.  Fewer vendors, fewer purchasing decisions, clear and simpler lines of accountability to name a few.

           If you can convince the customer to accepted a ‘bundled offer’ you’ve set the precedent that products and services can be tied together in one purchasing decision.

.  Finally, sow the seeds of an idea – working very closely together can be major benefit to the customer. Begin to talk about that idea, and put it into the regular conversation until such a time as the customer and you come together to explore the possibilities and negotiate the details.

           While it is not for everyone, almost every B2B vendor can find a place for “important partnerships” with quality customers that provide committed income streams and incredible relationships. In a world with over whelming distractions and the constant temptation to a transactional view of sales, “getting important” can provide focus, and purpose.